Nicolas Gilsoul (born 5 February 1982) is a Belgian rally co-driver. He is the former co-driver for Thierry Neuville and the current co-driver for Pierre-Louis Loubet.[2]

Nicolas Gilsoul
Nicolas Gilsoul, 2013
Personal information
NationalityBelgium Belgian
Born (1982-02-05) 5 February 1982 (age 42)
Chênée, Belgium[1]
World Rally Championship record
Active years2007–2008, 2012–2020, 2022
TeamsCitroën Junior, Qatar, Hyundai
Rallies114
Championships0
Rally wins13
Podiums43
Stage wins244
First rally2007 Monte Carlo Rally
First win2014 Rallye Deutschland
Last win2020 Monte Carlo Rally
Last rally2022 Ypres Rally

Career

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After competing in regional events from 2000, Gilsoul made his international debut in 2003 when co-driving with Bruno Thiry. He made his debut in the World Rally Championship in 2007.

Gilsoul started working with Thierry Neuville in 2011 and competed in the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge. In 2012, Gilsoul co-drove for Neuville in the World Rally Championship.[2] The pair went on to drive for the Qatar World Rally Team in 2013 and they were a surprise runners-up in the championship after seven podiums from 13 events.[3] Gilsoul and Neuville made the switch to the newly created rally team Hyundai Motorsport in 2014.[3] He won his first rally in the WRC that year, winning the 2014 Rallye Deutschland, famously after rolling their World Rally Car at the pre-event shakedown.[4]

Gilsoul continued co-driving for Neuville in Hyundai Motorsport and went on to win a further twelve events together.[5] They were runners-up in the championship between 2016 and 2019.[5]

In 2021, right before the season start in the 2021 Monte Carlo Rally, it was announced that Neuville and Gilsoul had stopped their co-operation. Gilsoul was eventually replaced by Martijn Wydaeghe as Neuville's co-driver.[6]

Gilsoul made a return to the co-driving seat in April that year, now for French privateer Paul-Antoine Santoni at the Italian Rally championship round in Rallye Sanremo.[7]

In 2023, Gilsoul returned to the World Rally Championship co-driving for Pierre-Louis Loubet for the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team.[8]

WRC victories

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 #  Event Season Driver Car
1   32. ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2014   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 WRC
2   13º Rally d'Italia Sardegna 2016   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 WRC
3   60ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 2017   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
4   37° Rally Argentina 2017   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
5   74th Rally Poland 2017   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
6   26th Rally Australia 2017   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
7   66th Rally Sweden 2018   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
8   52° Rally de Portugal 2018   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
9   15º Rally d'Italia Sardegna 2018   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
10   62ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 2019   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
11   39° Rally Argentina 2019   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
12   55º RallyRACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada 2019   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
13   88ème Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo 2020   Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC

Career results

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WRC results

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Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Points
2007 Luc Dewinter Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MON
28
SWE NOR MEX POR ARG ITA GRE FIN GER NZL ESP FRA JPN IRE GBR NC 0
2008 Bernard Munster Subaru Impreza STi N14 MON SWE
30
MEX ARG JOR ITA GRE TUR FIN GER NZL ESP FRA JPN GBR NC 0
2012 Citroën Junior World Rally Team Citroën DS3 WRC MON
Ret
SWE
12
MEX
13
POR
8
ARG
5
GRE
6
FIN
16
GER
12
GBR
7
FRA
4
ESP
12
7th 53
Qatar World Rally Team NZL
5
ITA
18
2013 Qatar World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC MON
Ret
SWE
5
MEX
3
POR
17
ARG
5
GRE
3
ITA
2
FIN
2
GER
2
AUS
2
FRA
4
ESP
4
GBR
3
2nd 176
2014 Hyundai Shell World Rally Team Hyundai i20 WRC MON
Ret
SWE
28
MEX
3
POR
7
ARG
5
ITA
16
POL
3
FIN
Ret
GER
1
AUS
7
FRA
8
ESP
6
GBR
4
6th 105
2015 Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 WRC MON
5
SWE
2
MEX
8
ARG
Ret
POR
38
ITA
3
POL
6
FIN
4
GER
5
AUS
7
FRA
23
ESP
8
6th 90
Hyundai Motorsport N GBR
Ret
2016 Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 WRC MON
3
SWE
14
MEX
Ret
ARG
6
POL
4
FIN
4
GER
3
CHN
C
FRA
2
ESP
3
GBR
3
AUS
3
2nd 160
Hyundai Motorsport N POR
29
ITA
1
2017 Hyundai Motorsport Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC MON
15
SWE
13
MEX
3
FRA
1
ARG
1
POR
2
ITA
3
POL
1
FIN
6
GER
44
ESP
Ret
GBR
2
AUS
1
2nd 208
2018 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC MON
5
SWE
1
MEX
6
FRA
3
ARG
2
POR
1
ITA
1
FIN
9
GER
2
TUR
16
GBR
5
ESP
4
AUS
Ret
2nd 201
2019 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC MON
2
SWE
3
MEX
4
FRA
1
ARG
1
CHL
Ret
POR
2
ITA
6
FIN
6
GER
4
TUR
8
GBR
2
ESP
1
AUS
C
2nd 227
2020 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC MON
1
SWE
6
MEX
16
EST
Ret
TUR
2
ITA
2
MNZ
Ret
4th 87
2022 East Belgian Racing Team Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo MON SWE CRO POR ITA KEN EST FIN BEL
13
GRE NZL ESP JPN NC 0
2023 M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 MON
Ret
SWE
6
MEX
27
CRO POR ITA KEN EST FIN GRE CHL EUR JAP 10th* 8*

* Season still in progress.

References

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  1. ^ "Nicolas Gilsoul". motorsport.hyundai.com. Hyundai Motorsport. 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b [1], wrc.com; accessed 30 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Emotional Neuville thankful to M-Sport before Hyundai switch". autosport.com. Autosport. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Rally Germany: Thierry Neuville, Hyundai take maiden WRC win". Autosport.com. Autosport. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Nicolas Gilsoul". ewrc-results.com. eWRC-Results. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Neuville splits with long-term co-driver Gilsoul ahead of 2021 WRC campaign". Autosport.com. Autosport. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Nicolas Gilsoul is Back in the Co-Driver Seat at Sanremo". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. thecheckeredflag.co.uk. 5 April 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  8. ^ Berry, Luke (12 December 2022). "Gilsoul to partner Loubet in WRC next year". dirtfish.com. DirtFish, LLC. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
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